Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help support dairy farmers in North Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK dairy sector is highly resilient and adaptable and continues to supply healthy and affordable products in spite of the many challenges it has faced in re-cent years.
This Government recognises that food security is national security, and that it requires a resilient and healthy food system that works with nature and supports farmers. That is why we are introducing new deals for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen food security.
Ensuring fairness in supply chains is key for UK dairy farmers and supporting the sustainability of the sector. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, which fully came into force on 9 July 2025, improve fairness and transparency, requiring dairy contracts to include clear terms on pricing, termination, and prohibiting unilateral changes.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing dairy-free alternatives as part of the Nursery Milk Scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Plant-based drinks are currently not covered by the legislation on the Nursery Milk Scheme, which only allows reimbursement to be made for cow’s milk and infant formula based on cow’s milk.
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the Committee on Toxicity published an assessment on plant-based drinks in July 2025. This assessment made a number of recommendations to the Government and industry about plant-based drinks which may be considered suitable for children in terms of fortification and sweetening.
The Government does not currently have plans to provide dairy-free alternatives as part of the Nursery Milk Scheme. However, the Department is considering the Committee’s recommendations.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reductions in the prices paid to British dairy farmers by suppliers; and whether she plans to review the adequacy of the regulatory framework governing the dairy supply chain.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Prices in the dairy sector are influenced by a wide range of factors, including global market trends, input costs and consumer demand.
The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, which came fully into force earlier this year, are designed to bring greater transparency and fairness to contractual relationships between farmers and milk purchasers. The regulations require clear and objective pricing terms, helping farmers to understand how the price they receive is determined and to plan their business decisions with greater confidence.
These regulations are subject to a statutory review to assess their effectiveness and ensure that the framework continues to operate as intended.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to establish a permanent personal import policy for goods entering Great Britain from the EU.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra keeps the rules for personal imports of meat and dairy products from the EU under review. Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on (a) the management of foot and mouth disease and (b) recent restrictions on (i) meat and (ii) dairy imports.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the European Commission regularly exchange information in relation to (a) the management of foot and mouth disease outbreaks in the European Union in 2025 and (b) the import restrictions on meat and dairy products that we put in place to protect UK farmers. This information includes details of surveillance, testing, movements of animals and goods, and other outbreak controls.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to strengthen deterrence of illegal personal imports of (a) meat and (b) dairy products following the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Germany.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In England, Border Force and port health officials seize and destroy illegal imports of meat and dairy products, and importers risk additional sanctions including financial penalties or prosecution.
On 12 April 2025, Defra extended the ban on personal imports of meat and dairy products from the European Union (EU) following recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Germany and other EU countries. Defra has worked with other government departments, ports, airports and international travel operators to communicate the ban.
Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that Lancashire cheesemakers can access the benefits of the new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement on equal terms with other UK artisan exporters.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will agree a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. GB goods such as dairy are currently subject to 100% documentary checks and up to 30% physical checks when exported to the EU. An SPS deal will see these removed entirely.
We are committed to working closely with businesses across the UK to ensure they are able to take advantage of the benefits the Agreement will provide.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47160 on Food: Import Controls, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the ban on personal imports of meats and diary products from EU countries.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra publishes assessments of the risk of animal diseases entering Great Britain through trade in animal products at www.gov.uk/government/collections/animal-diseases-international-monitoring. Our August 2025 attitude tracker demonstrated a high level of public awareness of the animal health-related ban on personal imports of certain meat and dairy products from EU countries amongst recent travellers.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47160 on Food: Import Controls, how many seizures have been conducted related to the ban on personal imports of meats and diary products from EU countries.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We do not have information on the number of seizures relating to the ban on personal imports of certain meat and dairy products from EU countries. Border Force and local authorities are responsible for detaining and seizing illegally imported animal products detected at the border, where importers refuse to surrender them for disposal.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47160 on Food: Import Controls, what steps he has taken to ensure the adequacy of signage at ports and airports relating to the ban on personal imports of meats and diary products from EU countries.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
As part of our national mission to protect our food sector and farmers, we communicated the ban on personal imports of certain meats and dairy products from EU countries via a press release, social media and information on GOV.UK. We have worked in partnership with the Department of Transport, the Home Office, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, ports, airports and international travel operators to communicate the ban. We published updated posters on gov.uk for operational partners to display. Baroness Hayman met with ports, airports and international travel operators to discuss the communications, including signage, that they put in place.